Durham-based contract research organization Quintiles Transnational has made an undisclosed number of layoffs.

Spokesperson Phil Bridges confirmed that there were cuts in a brief phone interview Monday. He described the number of layoffs as “limited” but initially did not provide specific numbers.

Bridges, in follow-up emails, said that less than 40 Triangle employees were impacted by the layoffs. He said that it was a “very small number” of employees among a total employee count of more than 25,000 in 60 countries.

“While we are making necessary changes in certain areas, we will add resources where they are needed to fuel our growth,” he writes. “For example, we have 800 open job requisitions."

Quintiles also announced Monday it was investing $14 million to establish a new regional headquarters in China.